Turning Back The Tide
by linseed
Summary: This is, as usual, an SJ AU story. Jack is still a Colonel and Dr Fraiser is still with us. Story now COMPLETE and has shifted to M for the last chapter.
1. Chapter 1

SG-1 had been on downtime for four days when the call came in.

Jack O'Neill was sitting on his dock in Minnesota nursing a beer and didn't hear the phone ringing.

When he came into the house the light on the answering machine had been blinking for several hours. He had felt no need to check the phone, as everybody was under strict instructions not to disturb him unless the fate of the planet hung in the balance.

He left three days after that and headed back to Colorado Springs; got in late and although his brain registered that there were several phone messages waiting for him he was too tired to deal with them and promptly went to bed and fell asleep.

By the following morning he had forgotten all about them, and made his way to the SGC, happy to be returning to work.

He was not prepared for the sombre mood he found there. People in the corridors looked at him from behind sorrowful eyes or avoided his look altogether, exhibiting behaviour he couldn't quite place.

In the Commissary it was much the same.

"I'm sorry Sir …" a female officer with red-rimmed eyes said to him. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes brimming over with tears as she moved away quickly.

Jack started to get a very uneasy feeling.

"Do things feel a little off around here or is it just me?" he said as he swung into Daniel's lab.

"God Jack, is that all you have to say?"

Jack stared, the uneasy feeling amplifying.

"Did you not receive our verbal communications O'Neill?" Teal'c stared at him.

"Oh .." he remembered the blinking lights. "Did you leave me voicemail yesterday? Crap, I got back late and this morning I…"

"We left you ten messages Jack. Couldn't you at least have …" Daniel trailed away, his voice choking up.

He got up and left the room.

Jack turned to Teal'c.

"Care to clue me in buddy? What the hell is going on here?"

"There was an explosion in the Astrophysics lab four days ago O'Neill. Were you not aware of this?"

Jack felt his blood run cold.

"Carter?" his voice was a mere whisper.

Teal'c nodded gravely. "She and Dr Lee were working on …"

"How is she?"

"She clung to her life for many hours in spite of the severity of her injuries. It is my belief she was waiting for you. When it became apparent that you were not coming her will to live dissolved. She died last night O'Neill, in the arms of Daniel Jackson. I too was present, as were Doctor Fraiser, her father, and General Hammond."

Teal'c walked past him out of the room and left him alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack lost track of time.

He refused to accept what Teal'c had just told him; his brain insisted that he could saunter down to Sam's lab right now and she would be there - toying with one of her doohickeys, feigning annoyance at his interruption …

He didn't realise he had moved until he found himself outside said lab.

It was cordoned off but there was an eerie glow coming from inside. He entered and tried a light switch.

Nothing.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness. Candles had been scattered around the room, no doubt by Teal'c.

The place had been gutted.

Furniture had been reduced to splinters and there were pieces of melted equipment everywhere.

Reality started to assert itself. Jack's heart started to thud painfully in his chest and he felt a little lightheaded. He sank down into the debris and clamped his left hand over his mouth, trying to keep the contents of his rebellious stomach inside.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there when George Hammond materialised next to him.

"Go home son" he said kindly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jack stared at him with blank eyes.

"I should have been here .."

"Yes Jack, you should have. We tried to reach you but …"

"Was it like Daniel at the end?" Jack asked.

"Don't do this to yourself son. Go home. We'll talk when you're ready. I'll let you know about the Memorial service."

Jack drifted aimlessly towards the door. "And Jack …"

He stopped but didn't turn round.

"Whatever Dr Jackson says don't hold it against him. Give him time … he bore the brunt of the strain these past four days."

Jack nodded and walked away, the need to get away from the mountain overwhelming him.


	3. Chapter 3

I am sure you have figured out by now that we are at the very beginning of S8. This is an AU and there is no Pete. To avoid confusion (although it should be pretty apparent really) the first part is Jack listening to the voicemails mentioned in previous chapters and his reaction to them. I tried to put the a flashback to the time when Sam was still alive between astterix symbols. GRRRRRRRR. It's not working, so i am using abreakerinstead. It made more sense using asterix symbols but it's not working. Hope you are enjoying the story. There are another 5 chapters after this and updates will be frequent as the story is completely written. I don't think this is graphic enough to be M but somebody please let me know if they think it is and I will make the necessary change. BTW, Anonymous reviews are now being accepted … didn't realise I had to enable the feature. Feel free to share your thoughts, whatever they may be xxx

* * *

"Jack … it's Daniel. Where the hell are you? You need to be here. She's fading ..." 

Jack hit the delete button and moved to the next recorded message.

"Jack … Jack .. pick up if you're home. This is no time to be feeling sorry for yourself you selfish son-of-a-bitch. We need you here. Jack please .."

Jack moved on to the next message … and the next, and the one after that - hitting the delete button with a vengeance as he went along.

"O'Neill … time is of the essence. It is imperative that you return to the SGC at once. Major Carter does not have much time."

"Jack … she's calling your name. God Jack … please come. Why aren't you answering the phone?"

Daniel was sobbing.

"Jack, can you hear her?" – and then came the sound of Sam's voice, weak and almost disembodied in the background, calling out for him in anguished delirium.

"Jack?"

"No, Major Carter … it is I, Teal'c."

"Jack?"

"Hey kiddo …it's okay. Jack will be here soon – Daniel is calling him. Hang on Sammy. He'll be here soon …"

"Jack?"

The answering machine found itself slammed against the wall. She'd called for him and he hadn't been there. The person he loved most in the world; the person he'd have given his life for … and he'd failed her. Jack sat there, trying to control his breathing, but no matter how hard he tried to resist, his mind kept taking him back to the last time he had seen Sam – alive, vital, and in his bed.

* * *

He opened his eyes to a gorgeous Sunday morning. He looked at the clock and was stunned to see that it was past eleven o'clock. He seriously couldn't remember the last time he'd slept in so late; he decided it had everything to do with the blonde lying spooned to him and the peace he felt in her presence. He tightened his hold on her waist. She shifted closer to him and turned in his arms, nuzzling against the hairs on his chest. 

"Morning .." she mumbled, making a grab for one of his nipples with her teeth.

"None o'that …" Jack growled.

"Why? I happen to know it turns you on."

"Well, if you hadn't noticed I'm already turned on" he poked her hip with his erection.

"Things can only get better then …" Sam laughed as she pushed him onto his back and straddled him. She continued to scrape his nipples with her teeth. Jack considered tussling with her for dominance for a while but then decided against it. He lay there and let her have her fun with him, marvelling at the set of circumstances that had brought them to this.

He remembered the panic that had flooded him when Thor had relieved him of the Ancient download, when he had discovered that Fifth had taken her; his relief when they found her; and the unbridled passion that had followed at his house once they had returned to Earth. They had made love as if there was no tomorrow. From then on they had been inseparable outside the mountain. Sam had basically refused to let him out of her sight, claiming that the pain of separation those few weeks that he was in Antarctica had been too much to bear and that she needed to be near him. He had had no objection.

"Are you zoning out on me?" she asked playfully.

"Just thinking …"

"Wow …" she teased.

He smiled gently, caressed her forearms gently as she stretched our languidly on top of him and kissed her forehead. In a swift move he grabbed her head between his hands, kissed her hard and reversed their positions before she could object.

"Yes Carter … thinking."

"About?"

"You … us … this … about how easy it was to…" he took in the pained look on her face and kissed her softly.

"Easy Jack? I don't think you realise what it was like seeing you slip away … all those weeks thinking I would never see you again, never be able to tell you how I felt. God … I don't ever want to go through that again Jack."

She shuddered and pulled him as close to her as she possibly could.

She could feel tears threatening but ploughed on regardless.

"But you know what the worst part was? I didn't have anything of yours to hang onto when things got really bad. I came here a few times and slept in your bed, you know … and I took some of your sweaters because they smelled like you. I even took some of your aftershave and put it on when I was at home alone."

She looked up, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Do you want me to give you something now?" Jack asked softly.

Sam smiled up at him.

"Actually … I had something specific in mind."

"Pray tell …"

"Well … what if we have something to pass back and forward to each other when one of us is away. Could be a pebble, a piece of glass, a shell even. Anything really, because it's a symbol. That way I'll always be with you, no matter where I am .. and you'll always be with me. I'm being silly I know … but if something should ever happen to me I really need you to know that I …"

Jack silenced her with a kiss, not happy to carry on with was rapidly becoming a morbid conversation to his mind.

They made slow, languorous love then … pouring into it all the emotion they felt for each other, drawing every sensation out till it wore them out and they drifted back into sleep.

They hadn't been together again after that as SG-1 was given downtime and he had headed up to his cabin.

He had asked her to join him but she felt that it made more sense to exercise a bit of discretion. He had reluctantly agreed and gone out there alone.

Jack felt the nausea well up again at the thought that he'd never taken her up on her offer for a transferable object. Now he was the one with nothing to hold onto.

* * *

The doorbell rang. 

Jack opened his front door and found himself looking into the soulful eyes of Jacob Carter. Something in him started to break loose but he clamped down on it ruthlessly.

"Can I come in Jack?" the older man said.

Jack didn't trust himself to speak so he merely gestured for Jacob to enter.

"Beer?" Jack said as they entered the living room.

"Selmac doesn't like alcohol but what the hell. Got anything stronger?"

"Coming right up …" Jack returned moments later with a bottle of whisky and poured out two tumblers. Jacob savoured his drink and then put it down, looking pointedly at Jack.

"Jack … I don't think I will ever really appreciate what it was that kept you from Sam's side at the end, but whatever it was I know you would have been there if you could."

Jack started to come undone again on the inside.

"Jacob …"

"Let me finish Jack. This is hard enough as it is, and there are things I have to tell you."

Jack fell silent.

"She wasn't lucid very often, and when she was she was restless and unsettled."

Jack could see Jacob reliving the hours spent at his daughter's bedside and it brought back memories of sitting by his son's hospital bed.

The combined pain of Charlie and Sam brought him to his knees almost literally.

"She … she asked me to give you this" his voice shook a little as he handed Jack an envelope. "I also brought you the video footage from the security cameras .." he held out a tape "just in case you want to see it. But I don't recommend it Jack."

Jack reached out and took the items with trembling hands.

"What about the healing device?"

"Her injuries were too severe. She would have needed a Tokra symbiote. We had one standing by but she refused it. It would have saved her but she .." his voice trailed off and he fortified himself with another swig of whisky, looking away from Jack.

Jack looked at him questioningly and Jacob took a deep breath and continued. "If she had taken the symbiote she would have had to join the Tokra. She would have lived Jack, but she would have had to let go of her life here … she would have had to let go of you. She wasn't ready to do that, especially knowing how you feel about the Tokra."

Jack felt as though he had been kicked in the gut and the emotional pain that ripped through him doubled him up.

"I couldn't believe that she would give up her life rather than be apart from you, when everybody could have benefited so much from her joining the Tokra … but in effect she did. She loved you Jack. I think she just didn't want to live knowing that you might …"

He saw Jack gravitate towards him, without even realising it, pain etched in his features.

Without a second thought Jacob took him into his arms in a fatherly embrace and they clung to each other, tears streaming unchecked down both their faces.

A long while later Jacob stood. He tapped the video tape.

"Don't watch it Jack …remember her as you last saw her and hang on to that memory."

Jack struggled with the idea but finally nodded.

Jacob picked up the tape and pocketed it. "I'll see myself out" he said, heading for the door.

"Jacob …" he stopped and turned back to Jack.

"Thanks" he said simply.

Jacob smiled sadly and was gone.

Jack sat stunned for a while; then he picked up the envelope that Jacob had brought him.

He ripped it open and tipped the contents into his hand.

There in his palm lay a seashell. Tears slipped down his cheeks again before he could stop them.


	4. Chapter 4

The tension in the briefing room the next morning was palpable.

Jack scrubbed a hand wearily over his face, exhausted to the bone; Daniel sat opposite him radiating nervous energy – obviously dying for a face-off with Jack. Teal'c sat stoically, eying each of them in turn, ready to intervene at a moment's notice should the need arise. Janet Fraiser shuffled her medical files but said nothing.

General Hammond entered the room. Everybody stood.

"As you were people" he said as he took his seat at the head of the table. Daniel leafed through a file and then threw it to the table in disgust, unable to contain himself any longer.

"Care to tell us what was so important that you couldn't be here Jack?" he exploded.

"Dr. Jackson …" General Hammond said gently.

"No … really Sir … I'd like to know" he fixed Jack with a glare.

"Daniel, believe me .."

"She called for you Jack … every moment that she was conscious she called for you. Do you have any idea how hard that was for the rest of us? There were five of us in that room and we might as well have not existed."

"Daniel …"

"I sat by her for four days Jack … FOUR DAYS. There was only one thing she wanted and you weren't there."

"Daniel I'm sorry …"

Daniel got up and sauntered over to Jack's side of the table, looming over him threateningly.

"But you know what the saddest part was? She made excuses for you .. she forgave you for abandoning her. She refused a symbiote because she was afraid you'd reject her … and you rejected her anyway, you self-centred…"

"Daniel Jackson …desist." Teal'c clamped a hand down on his shoulder. "I do not believe that O'Neill had control over this situation. Had he been aware of the situation he would have been here. Of that I am certain."

Jack stood up. Daniel forved himself to look him in the eye and was floored by the depth of emotion he found there.

"I would have been here if I had gotten those messages Daniel …"

"She died alone Jack."

Tears appeared in Daniel's eyes.

"She died alone … in spite of the fact that we were all there with her."

His body shook with emotion. "I just need to know that you didn't stay away because you couldn't face this. I miss her Jack …"

Jack felt the last bit of his resolve crumble and instinctively reached out for him, feeling Daniel's need to be grounded.

"I miss her too …"

They stood there, with Teal'c standing by maintaining his grip on Daniel's shoulder, all three linked in their grief over their lost team mate.


	5. Chapter 5

General Hammond cleared his throat and everybody shuffled back to their seats.

"Jacob had to return to the Tok'ra home world. He will return for the memorial service, which is slated for tomorrow afternoon. Colonel, will you be speaking?"

"What are our options here Sir?" Jack appeared not to have heard.

"Options Colonel?"

"Can none of our allies help us?"

"Our allies Jack?" Hammond wasn't sure where this was going.

"Yeah – doesn't someone out there owe us a couple of favours by now?"

"Jack … Major Carter is dead. Nothing we can do will bring her back."

"Were the Nox not able to revive the dead?" asked Teal'c.

"You see … right there … the Nox!"

Jack slapped his hand on the table.

"Ehm … the last people to contact the Nox were the Tollan Jack .. and we all know what happened to them" Daniel pointed out apologetically.

"We do not possess the technology to summon them then .." mused Teal'c.

"Could we send a message back to ourselves in time, warning Sam of the danger?" asked Janet.

General Hammond shook his head.

"We would need a solar flare .. and in the absence of Major Carter I don't believe any of us here are in a position to calculate when the next one will be."

Jack perked up.

"What about that time thingy .. on P3X .."

"Do you refer to the planet with the geomagnetic storm O'Neill?"

"Riiiiiight … the one where we got stuck in the time loop. You could figure out the machine right Daniel? We could create another time loop and stop this from happening?"

"Actually no Jack – we would need to travel back in time to the day of the explosion before we could initiate a time loop, and we just don't have any way of doing that."

Jack looked crushed.

"What about the Stargate?" asked General Hammond.

"What about it?" asked Jack.

"We currently use seven chevrons, but there are others on it …" ventured Janet.

Daniel shook his head.

'The idea that the Stargate was designed for time travel doesn't wash. It's a transportation device, not a temporal one. We've been using the seven chevrons for interstellar travel. From what Sam told me recently there are plans to try and use the eighth chevron for intergalactic travel."

"What – like an area code?" said Jack.

"Sorta. A distance multiplier to enable travel to other galaxies. If the gate had been capable of time travel the Ancients would never have built that machine on the storm planet."

Silence settled on the room.

"Can the Asgard render no assistance General Hammond?"

"I contacted Thor shortly after Major Carter refused the symbiote. He expressed his sorrow about the situation."

"His sorrow?" Jack snorted. "She's only saved their skinny asses once or twice!"

General Hammond frowned at the outburst but continued.

"He also said that he felt Colonel O'Neill would not condone their sharing technology with us in view of past events. Do any of you have any idea what he means by this?"

Jack jumped out of his chair.

"Permission to contact the Asgard Sir .."

He was out of the room heading for the control room before his Commanding Officer could formulate a reply.

The General looked around the room for answers.

"Oh my God …" said Daniel. "I can't believe we didn't think of that. Janet? Can it be done?"

"DNA samples are taken from cadavers for paternity tests all the time, so …"

She rose from her seat in a hurry and hovered. "Permission to be dismissed Sir …" Hammond nodded and she ran from the room, her mind way ahead of her body.

"Would somebody please explain what is going on here" General Hammond said.

"Thor can utilise Sam's genetic material General, like Loki did with Jack several years ago."

"Are you telling me that he can clone her?"

"Indeed" said Teal'c. "Only this time there will be but one."


	6. Chapter 6

I just want to say again that this is an AU …. just in case people are wondering why Jack is having this particular conversation with General Hammond instead of Elizabeth Weir. My Aus tend to vary widely from the actual show in some respects, as per the needs of the story. This is one of them xxx

* * *

A beam of white light inside the containment section of the infirmary signalled that the body of Samantha Carter had been transported to the Asgard mothership.

Thor had warned them that the process would be a little more complex since the body was lifeless and there was Naquadah in her blood. He prepared them for the possibility that the process might not work at all, due to the latter. Then he too disappeared.

"Now what?" asked Jack.

"Now we wait" said Jacob, who had since returned to the SGC.

He watched, amused, as Jack started to pace.

"Are you going to be doing that all day?"

"Why?"

"Because if you are I'm going to the VIP quarters …"

Jacob left the room shaking his head.

The hours rolled by but there was nothing from Thor.

"What's taking them so long?" muttered Jack to Daniel over coffee in the commissary.

"Perhaps Major Carter needs time to adjust to her new body" suggested Teal'c.

"Colonel O'Neill to General Hammond's office. Colonel O'Neill to General Hammond's office."

Jack was on his feet in an instant.

"Here we go …"

Jack knocked on the General's door and walked in, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets.

"News from Thor Sir?"

"No Jack … but we have to talk son."

Jack steeled himself for what he knew was sure to follow and took a seat.

"Look Sir … I can explain." Hammond waved him off.

"A few days ago I received an urgent communication from the Pentagon. I am being transferred to Washington to head up Homeworld Security, effective immediately."

Jack did a double take; this was not what he had expected to hear.

"Who will be taking your place Sir?" he asked warily.

"The recommendation is for you to be promoted to Brigadier General and given command of this facility."

Jack looked left and right, trying to figure out who the General was talking to, as he couldn't possibly be addressing him, could he?"

"Sir?"

"I wanted to talk to you about this when it came in but you were away, and what with this business with Major Carter there was just never a good time. However, I cannot delay the matter any longer Jack. I have no choice but to move on up, but you can decide whether to take this or not. I don't have to tell you what a big career move this is son …" he smiled.

"Can I have some time to think about this Sir?"

"Of course – you will need to discuss it with your team and …" he got cut off short when Jack disappeared into an Asgard beam.

Jack found himself on the deck of the 'Daniel Jackson' with Daniel, Teal'c and Jacob.

Thor regarded them seriously.

"The cloning process is complete O'Neill. It was possible to transfer all of Major Carter's memories to her new body. There is, however, one question I must ask. Should I manipulate her consciousness to remove the memory of the four days prior to her demise before I move on to the final stage?"

Jack thought about it and looked to Jacob for advice. He shook his head.

"No Thor. As painful as those memories may be they are a part of her."

"Very well then. I shall return soon."

As they waited Jack filled them in on the news that General Hammond had imparted.

"General huh? Now I've really seen it all!" laughed Jacob.

'You're really going to do this Jack?" Daniel was incredulous. "I don't believe it."

"Thanks for the moral support Danny boy."

"No, it's just weird. I can't really imagine you taking General Hammond's place … seeing us off without coming on missions … dealing with mounds of paper work … being diplomatic …"

"Sheesh Daniel … rub it in will ya?"

"Will you not miss being out in the field O'Neill?"

"Maybe I'm being put out to pasture nicely …"

"Who will lead SG-1 in your stead?" asked Teal'c.

"Hey … I heard the news all of ten minutes ago ya know. Haven't quite thought that far ah- "

"Dad?" came a tentative voice. All four men spun round.

"Hey kiddo …" she fell into his arms.

Daniel and Jack stood there with their eyes fairly popping out of their heads, while Teal'c moved forward with purpose and embraced her firmly.

"It is good to see you Major Carter."

"You too Teal'c. Daniel …" she turned to him and hugged him tightly – a gesture he returned wholeheartedly. "Sir …" she took in Jack's appearance.

"Carter … don't do that again" he crushed her to him, sinking his face into her neck.

"You ok?" he asked when he could speak.

"I am now …" she smiled, tears shining in her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack sat across the table from Sam, their fingers entwined on its surface. 

He looked at her over a glass of wine and tried to exercise some control over the armada of butterflies in his stomach.

Sam regarded him, unsure what he was feeling.

"I wanted to say thank you Jack ... for asking Thor to ... erm ... do the same thing for Dr Lee."

"Yeah well ... the guy is a real pain in the mik'ta, but I know that in spite of your differences you need someone to bounce ideas of that can actually understand what you're saying. Plus I didn't want you to feel guilt for the rest of your life over something that was beyond your control."

"We don't leave our people behind, right Jack?"

"Right" he smiled uneasily. "Sam ... there's something we have to talk about."

Sam shifted in her seat, her senses suddenly on high alert. "Let's take this into the living room."

"Okay Jack ... what's going on? If you're trying to find some way of telling me that things have changed since the accident please don't spare my feelings ok? Just .. out with it and .."

Jack sat back on the sofa and draped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

"Sam ... I'm being promoted to General. They've offered me Hammond's position."

"And?" she became stiff in his arms and stared right in front of her, afraid of what was coming next.

"And ... I don't know Sam. That's what I wanted to discuss with you."

"Everybody knows, you know ... about us."

"If by everybody you mean Frasier, Hammond, your dad and the boys then yes. But so what - you were in a lot of pain, for crying out loud."

"Can we please not talk about that?

"Sure" he drew her in a little closer. "Sam ... if I take this job things between us are going to get very strained. I won't just be one the Colonels heading up an SG team. I'll be in charge of the entire facility."

"I know Jack. But if you don't take it who knows who we might get."

"God ... we're back to this lets-put-our-lives-on-the-back-burner-because-we're-unimportant-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things crap" Jack huffed, leaning his head sideways against Sam's.

"So ... we're at an impasse" said Sam.

"Again ..." Jack said wryly.

"I thought we were so over this" said Sam sadly.

"Me too" he replied, running his fingers through her wispy hair.

He realised then that he hadn't stopped touching her since her arrival. Little, non-sexual touches - his hand on her shoulder, in her hair, on her knee, the small of her back; his fingers loosely intertwined with hers, sliding over her knuckles. He wondered if she'd noticed. He thought about the implications, of how it screamed of his need for her in more than just stolen moments

She brought him out of his musing.

"What now?"

"I can't do this Sam. I can't go back to playing hide and seek. You were lost within the bowels of the SGC in an accident. What's going to happen if you head up SG-1?"

She stared at him in amazement, the possibility never even having crossed her mind.

"If I sent you out on a mission and you didn't return, or if I was forced to take a tactical decision that would impact your life while you were off-world ..."

"We've done that for seven years Jack ..."

"But I was always out there taking those risks with you Sam. If this goes through I'll be sitting at the base waiting for you to come back. Flying a desk for God's sake!"

"So what are you saying Jack?"

"I'm asking you if I should retire Sam?"

"And what would that change Jack .. really? I'd still be going out there. You just wouldn't be calling the overall shots. It'd be someone else who probably doesn't know the first thing about how things work out there. Think you can live with that - coz I sure as hell can't. The program needs you Jack - the people at the base deserve to be led by someone who has real off-world experience, not some jerk who takes orders from the Appropriations Committee or the NID. The planet deserves someone at the helm who knows what we're up against. Need I remind you what we ended up with the last time Hammond was gone?"

"No you don't ..." Jack shuddered.

"I don't want to give this up Sam ..." he turned to face her, cupping her face with his right hand and stroking her cheek with his thumb "but I don't want it to tear us apart either."

"You know .. I lay there in the infirmary and thought about us ... about our decision to screw the regs; and I promised myself that if I got out of this one I would ask to be reassigned to the labs. No Jack .. let me finish. As much as I love the front line, my real contribution is in the science department. There's nothing to say I can't go off-world when the need arises. My military background will be an asset then. I mean Daniel goes off-world on a frontline team and he could hardly hold a gun when we first met him."

"Don't remind me .." Jack groaned.

"Look ... we'll talk about this again in the light of day huh? But I just want you to know that I am ready, willing ... and able" she smiled earnestly then "to resign from the Airforce. I can afford that luxury. We need you to run this base as an airforce officer. I have no problem stepping back if it means that you and I can go forward. It doesn't take anything from me Jack."

Her hand rose to join his on her cheek.

"I've been in the military all my life, as far as I'm concerned. I saw what it did to my family. There is no need for me to remain in the military for me to contribute significantly to this program. Let me do this for us."

Jack looked at her and opened his mouth to speak.

"You don't have to say anything" Sam said, closing the distance between them and brushing her lips against his "because we both know there's no other way."

She stood, tugging him up with her.

"Now .." she said decisively, an amused glint coming into her eyes as she took stock of Jack's tented sweats "how about we see what this new body is capable of ..."

She walked away, looking over her shoulder once.

"Coming?"

Jack followed, a grin plastered all over his face.

* * *

Author's Note: the story will be upgraded to M for the last chapter. Look in that section for the update.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: The story is now complete. Hope you enjoyed it. Iedited thischapter as much as I could before posting, so that it would fit the M criteria. If anyone wants the full version please let me know. Thanks for reading xxx

* * *

"Where are you going?" Sam asked, as Jack did a 180 and walked back into the living room.

"Forgot …."

She couldn't make out the rest of the sentence.

She started to undress, slipping under the covers when she was done. He returned a few minutes later holding a paper bag.

"What's in the bag?"

"Jasmine oil and …" he fished them out " base oil. Stopped at the health store on my way home."

He shrugged off his clothes and stood at the dresser, pouring some base oil into a bowl he had snagged from the kitchen.

"Why?" Sam was a little bewildered.

Jack sat on the edge of the bed and placed the bowl on the bedside table. He looked at her seriously but with infinite gentleness in his eyes.

"Sam … this body is new, it's untried. We do tend to get a little carried away you know. Your mind tells you that you've done this before but this body never has. I need to make sure you don't get hurt … so we should loosen you up a little bit first."

"You're going to give me a massage?"

"A sensual massage, yes …" Jack scooped some of the oil onto his fingertips. He briefly considered laying down towels and then decided that he didn't care. "Lie back Sam." He prodded her gently and she scooted to the middle of the bed.

He established himself at her feet and dropped a few drops of jasmine into his palm, mixing it with the base oil. He applied the oil to the bottom of her feet and rubbed. Sam wriggled for a second, so he applied a little more pressure to alleviate the tickling sensation. He held the palms of his hands against the soles of her feet for a while and let their energies combine. He felt Sam relax and as soon as he felt she was ready he moved to the top of the bed and placed her head in his lap.

"Is this a subtle invitation?" Sam batted her eyelashes at him.

"Nope … this is actually supposed to have a grounding effect … for both of us. Although at the moment I beg to differ" he said as his member strained towards her. He took a few deep breaths in and out.

He placed some more oil in his palms and started to massage her head – starting at the top and moving down to the base of her skull.

"Mmmmm …" mumbled Sam.

Jack placed his right index finger in the centre of her forehead and rotated it. After a few moments he used the ring and middle fingers of both hands and rubbed gently towards her temples. With each pass he moved upwards into her hairline. From there he moved to her temples again and resumed the circular motion. His fingers slid down to her chin and onward along the centre of her throat to the general area of her heart.

His fingers brushed against her breasts and she arched her back a little against his knees as he sat kneeling behind her.

"Jack?"

"Hmmmm?" he paused, bent over and kissed her softly.

"This is wonderful …"

Jack smiled and urged her to sit up. He turned her to face him so that they were both now kneeling on the bed. He placed his finger in the hollow of the throat and rubbed her neck from the centre to the outer edges. Once he had reached the back of her neck he kneaded it gently, stroking towards the front. He massaged her collar bone and moved on to her shoulders.

"Can I touch you?" asked Sam.

"Please …" answered Jack, focusing on what he was doing to keep his mind off the ache in his nether regions. "But nothing overtly sexual because I'll just blow and embarrass my ass."

Sam smiled and placed both of her hands in his lap against his genitals. Jack sucked in a sharp breath and took a few more deep breaths.

He pulled up one of Sam's hands and trapped it between his cheek and his shoulder. He massaged the arm and then did the same with the other one, before moving on to her sternum. He gently rubbed her chest area, holding a breast in his hands, massaging it in small circles without touching the nipple. He gave the same treatment to the other one, and then massaged her rib bones one by one. She gazed back at him out of blue eyes steeped in arousal.

Jack pushed her down onto the bed. She didn't resist. He took more oil and started running circles around her navel, making the circles bigger and bigger with every sweep, until the entire abdominal area gleamed.

"Moving down now Sam"

She nodded to show she had understood. Jack massaged her pubic bone and moved into her inner thighs. Sam squirmed. He did this over and over, applying slightly more pressure each time.

She reached for him and smiled.

He returned her smile and pushed her back onto the bed.

"You're distracting me" he said.

She giggled.

"Going in Sam .."

She nodded.

"Ah .. the sacred spot" he said smugly. "More fingers?"

Sam shook her head.

"Does it hurt? You feel very tight."

Sam smiled, his thoughtfulness touching her.

Jack bit his lip and groaned. Sam grabbed his head and brought it up to eye level.

"I think you need to come inside Jack .."

"Raincoat?" asked Jack.

"I guess" Sam was disappointed but could understand his logic. "My birth control shots are history."

"Depends if you're willing to run the risk Sam. I am .." he admitted so softly that he she only barely heard him.

Sam's eyes filled with tears. She pressed a kiss to his lips, thereby giving him her answer.

Jack nodded and positioned his arms on either side of her. With infinite gentleness he lowered himself into her. Sam tensed a little as he entered her.

"Am I hurting you?" Jack hesitated.

"No … just adjusting" she reached up for his face again, pulling him down onto her.

Jack tried to be gentle, but Sam was swept away by being on the edge for so long. She grabbed at him, rising off the mattress to meet each of his thrusts, until he felt himself slipping far faster than he would have wished. Their lovemaking was laced with desperation, the product of near-loss and desolation. Sam held tightly to the nape of his neck and rolled them over, wresting control from him. She shuddered in his arms and he lost it just as surely as she did, very quickly.

"God I missed you Sam …" Jack said, his voice thick with emotion as they lay there stroking each other down from the rush of orgasm.

Sam smiled sadly and kissed him, running her hands through his hair. She said nothing but held him a little tighter.

After a while something crossed Jack's mind. He crawled under the covers, his butt propped up in the air

"Nice view …" Sam was not impressed.

Jack promptly flattened out and pulled the covers down with him.

"Goddammit …" he said after a moment of rustling

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sending you back to the shop that's what's wrong …"

"Huh?"

"I've been cheated!"

"Oww!" she shouted as Jack started to roll her one way and the other, evidently looking for something. "Jack … what's going on?"

"Your mole is missing!"


End file.
